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The submission deadline for the first “Health I.T. Young Bloods” contest, sponsored by Health Data Management, will be Tuesday, May 29. The contest recognizes the technology accomplishments of clinicians, administrators and I.T. staff in the health care industry. Staff members age 35 years or younger who work for health care delivery systems, physician group practices, health plans, government or regulatory agencies, member associations and data exchanges are eligible (employees of I.T. software, services and consulting firms are not eligible). The program honors up and coming staff whose work has benefited their organization in a demonstrable way.

The Health I.T. Young Bloods program recognizes innovation, accomplishment, and creativity in the deployment and application of health care-related applications and information systems. Judges will evaluate candidates based on their contributions to any number of I.T.-related areas, including clinical documentation, financial management and organizational operations. For example: leadership in a group practice adoption of an EHR; development of a help desk or training curriculum for an information system deployment; customized use of an I.T. system at the department level; volunteer leadership work on a community data exchange; leadership of an association committee championing data standards.

The contest judges include William Hersh, chair of the department of medical informatics and clinical epidemiology at Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, and Ed Ricks, vice president of information systems and CIO at Beaufort (S.C.) Memorial Hospital. The editors of Health Data Management will also serve as judges in the contest.

How to enter: Nominations will be accepted from colleagues and co-workers, public/media relations staff and others knowledgeable about the work done by the nominee. Self-nominations also will be accepted. Entries should not exceed 1,500 words. Entries should include the following:

1. Demographic information: Give candidate’s name, date of birth, current position title, degree or credential, current supervisor and title, name and description of organization. If entry is submitted by someone other than the nominee, it should include the submitter’s name, title, and relationship to the nominee.
2. Area of I.T. accomplishment: Summarize the specialty area of contribution of the candidate (clinical quality, EHR deployment, financial analysis, I.T. training, etc.)
3. Specifics of achievement: Detail the accomplishments and contributions of the candidate. Precisely describe the nature of the project championed by the candidate, its scope, the candidate’s role, hurdles encountered and overcome, the project’s duration, and the outcomes.
4. Nominee statement: Nominees should describe, in their own words, how their work thus far has fit into their career goals and explain their vision for advancing the health industry using I.T.

For more information or to enter a candidate, contact Editorial Director Gary Baldwin at gary.baldwin@sourcemedia.com. Entries should be submitted no later than Tuesday, May 29.